Over the past year, I’ve started hearing the terms “metaverse” and “web3” a lot. However, few people seem to understand what they are. Also, some people seem to think that “Metaverse = web3”, but this trend seems to be the same not only in Japan but also in other countries.
Metaverse, a virtual space on the Internet with an economic zone
The reason why the “Metaverse” attracted attention is probably the change of Facebook’s company name. On October 28, 2021, Facebook surprised the world by announcing that it would change its name to Meta.
CEO Mark Zuckerberg foresaw the arrival of the Metaverse era in the near future, and appealed to the world to make it the company’s main industry. Triggered by this, “Metaverse Development company” became a buzzword and was rapidly recognized.
The term “metaverse” first appeared in the 1992 novel “Snow Crash” by American novelist Neil Stephenson. Set in America in the near future, it depicts people living in the virtual space “Metaverse” built on the Internet.
To put it simply, the Metaverse is an “online virtual space (virtual reality)”, and there is an opinion that the online games “Fort Knight” and “Atsume Animal Crossing” are part of it.
However, according to Joichi Ito’s “The Future Predicted by Technology” (SB Creative), the Metaverse is not just a game-like internet space, but a place where some kind of value is exchanged.
The “value” is “tokens” such as virtual currency, cryptographic assets, and NFTs, and the leading view is to define the virtual space in which the economic zone (crypto economy) is formed through tokens as the “metaverse.” It is said that
New world “web3” by paradigm shift
On the other hand, “web3” is said to be the evolutionary stage of the Internet following Web1.0 and Web2.0.
Web 1.0 refers to the dawn of the Internet when information was provided and accessed via a browser. At that time, the flow of information was one-way, from sender to recipient, and portal sites such as Yahoo! became popular.
In the next Web 2.0, information will be interactive. With the emergence of user-centered internet spaces such as SNS and review sites, anyone can easily send and receive information. The champion of this era was GAFA, a huge platformer, and it came to have a huge influence all over the world.
Then, what kind of stage is the next “web3”?
First, the era of “web3” is said to be “distributed (non-centralized)”. With the development of blockchain technology, the platformers who had power until now will lose their power, and sovereignty will return to individuals.
Since all transaction information such as personal information and online trading history is recorded on the infrastructure (blockchain), it will not be affected by platform regulations or intentional operations. As a result, the centralized world of giant tech companies will collapse and a new decentralized net world will be built — this is the world of web3.
By the way, why “web3” instead of “Web3.0”? The reason is that it is differentiated with the meaning of “a new world after a paradigm shift” rather than an extension of the previous evolution. “web3” means the beginning of a new era that has never been experienced before.
Why “Web3” and “Metaverse” are Confused
Forbes speculates as to why the two terms are confused .
First, these definitions are still “under construction” and most people don’t exactly understand them. Second, both “web3” and “metaverse” were called “Web3.0”. Some people used to describe Web 3.0 as “the immersive web”, so the two seem to have been conflated. The last point is that the technologies that make up “web3” and “metaverse” are closely related.
All fields, such as work, entertainment, learning, and SNS, will enter the virtual space/metaverse that accompanies economic activities. Blockchain-based crypto assets such as Ethereum and Bitcoin, NFT of digital objects, and DAO of decentralized independent organizations, the technologies that form the basis of web3 are indispensable to the Metaverse, and the two are inseparable. It can be said.
Arrival of the “virtual first era”
According to “Metaverse and web3” (Hironao Kunimitsu, Mdn Corporation), web3 will be “a full-fledged virtual-first era.” Until now, the Internet has been a supplementary device that makes the real world convenient and enjoyable, but that role will be reversed.
A number of virtual spaces are created on the Internet, and each of them is managed as a community. Anyone can participate in the world, and a literal parallel world will appear, such as shopping, dressing up, and participating in live performances. And the tool that becomes the entrance is not a smartphone, but a glass device that allows a more seamless experience.
Meta, Apple, and Google all plan to release AR glasses for the general public by 2024. The world of “virtual first” is already in front of us.
Latest trends of web3 by industry
In fact, changes that make us feel the arrival of the web3 era are beginning to occur in a wide range of fields. With reference to Forbes articles, we will introduce the latest trends and future projections by industry.
Art
In 2021, Beeple’s digital art was sold at a high price, and NFT caused a worldwide breakthrough. NFTs, which give unique value to digital works, have revolutionized the art world, and the Metaverse development of marketplaces is progressing rapidly.
On NFTIFY, a platform that allows you to create artworks as NFTs, you can trade your works on the open market and create an art gallery in virtual space.
Social Media
Social media, which is an online community, works well with web3. For example, Twitter users can publish NFT profile pictures to members of the paid service “Twitter Blue”. This will allow members to buy and sell NFT works with each other.
Big brands are also part of the community at web3, which emphasizes the flatness of the participants. RTFKT, which handles Nike’s digital shoe collection, has a total product value of over $1.5 billion, but has decided to hold only $300 million and return the rest to the community.
Entertainment
On November 19, 2021, Justin Bieber held a live concert “An Interactive Virtual Experience” on the virtual music platform Wave using web3. Many other artists have held similar events, including Canadian singer Grimes.
Fashion & Cosmetics
HUGO BOSS, a fashion brand, uses TikTok to conduct a campaign “BOSS Move challenge” that allows participants to win NFTs. The total number of views of the posted videos exceeded 7.5 billion.
In addition, in the contest held by the cosmetic brand Clinique for members on SNS, NFT art was prepared as one of the prizes. NFTs are beginning to be recognized in the real world as “luxury and valuable”.
Public Service
The use of web3 will also dramatically improve the efficiency of public services.
For example, blockchain can be used to create digital identities for citizens, enabling faster access to health care, education, social security, and more. It will also enable tamper-proof digital voting. A more transparent, speedy and accurate service may be enabled by web3.
web3 has a significant impact on a wide range of industries and has the impact of changing the structure of society. In order not to be left behind by changes, we need to deepen our understanding and prepare for “new experiences” from now on.
